While Vice President Kamala Harris fell short in her historic presidential bid, a pair of Black women will make history with this election. These victories, as well as another achieved in a red Southern state, are significant achievements for Black political candidates.
Lisa Blunt Rochester continues to make history in Delaware
For the first time in U.S. history, two Black women will serve as U.S. senators together. Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester won her Senate bid to represent Delaware, defeating Republican businessman Eric Hansen and Democrat-turned-independent Mike Katz. Blunt Rochester’s ability to win in Delaware is not a surprise, as she is in her fourth term as the only member of the House of Representatives from the state, the first Black person, and the first woman to represent the state in Congress. She will now move to the Senate, where she will also be the first Black person and woman from the state.
Angela Alsobrooks to join her in unprecedented moment of two Black women in the Senate
Meanwhile, Angela Alsobrooks won her race to represent Maryland in the Senate; she will be the first Black senator to represent the state. Although Maryland is a reliably Democratic-voting state, Alsobrooks faced a strong challenge from former Gov. Larry Hogan, a moderate Republican who remains popular with Maryland voters. These election results make Blunt Rochester and Alsobrooks only the fourth and fifth Black women ever to serve in the Senate. Former ambassador Carol Moseley Braun was elected to represent Illinois for one term, 1993-1999. Kamala Harris was elected in 2016 to represent California, which she did from 2017 until she became vice president in 2021. Laphonza Butler was appointed the third Black woman senator in 2023, serving the remainder of the term for deceased Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Figures to represent Alabama from altered congressional district
Additionally, Shomari Figures was elected to represent Alabama’s newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District in the House of Representatives. The district was created as the result of a judicial ruling, upheld by the Supreme Court in 2023, that Alabama had likely discriminated against Black voters by drawing its congressional lines in a way that minimized Black voting power. Figures will now serve in the House alongside Rep. Terri Sewell, who won her eighth term representing Alabama’s 7th Congressional District on Tuesday, making this the first time two Black Congress members will represent the state simultaneously.
Together, these firsts represent milestone achievements for Black politicians in Congress. Although Harris will not be occupying the White House as president come January, Capitol Hill will welcome these new members of Congress and demonstrate that progress is still being made in Black representation in Washington, D.C.
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